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Hey guys I had a problem the other day getting my spare tire down. It seemed like it would only catch once in a while while I was spinning the bar to lower it. I figured the winch is broken, so I'm going to replace it. Only problem is, I can't find anywhere that sells them. I've got an 02 Trailblazer, and if anyone can point me in the right direction or help at all it would be much appreciated =)

MANY people have the same problem as you.....poor design on GM's part. If you can get it to lower some, you might be able to get in there and spray rust buster and get it to move. There is also a secondary latch that causes problems too....I think it's mentioned in your owners manual.

Ive had mine broken for a few months now so I keep my spare in the rear cargo. I am planning to change it out now........however can this be done at home, is it an easy replacement? Or am I better off just bringing it in???? Diagrams???? THX guys

Yeah, it's a relatively easy swap out, once you have the spare removed. One 5/8 bolt holds the fixture the tire rides over, while the winch, which is to the right, near the muffler/resonator, is held on (to the frame) by two identical 5/8 bolts. Takes 10 minutes or so to remove.

The problem is that GM skimped and had the winch housing made of plastic- not even particularly heavy plastic- and ANY tangling of the cable will bust the housing. Replacement cost for the assembly, which is the winch and support spindle, connected by a cable guide tube, is around $100- 125. Unless your bolts are badly rusted, you shouldn't need to replace those, or the heat shield.

Problem is, the new one will be the same piece of junk the old one was.

Yeah, it's a relatively easy swap out, once you have the spare removed. One 5/8 bolt holds the fixture the tire rides over, while the winch, which is to the right, near the muffler/resonator, is held on (to the frame) by two identical 5/8 bolts. Takes 10 minutes or so to remove.

The problem is that GM skimped and had the winch housing made of plastic- not even particularly heavy plastic- and ANY tangling of the cable will bust the housing. Replacement cost for the assembly, which is the winch and support spindle, connected by a cable guide tube, is around $100- 125. Unless your bolts are badly rusted, you shouldn't need to replace those, or the heat shield.

Problem is, the new one will be the same piece of junk the old one was.

Thanks a million, ill just do it myself then. Got the part and im ready to go

I had to replace my winch assembly today after purchasing new tires. The tire dealer wanted to check the spare and managed to destroy the winch in the process. Had to cut the tire retainer in half with my disk grinder to get the tire off. The secondary latch was a solid block of rust. Better to find out about this in May than in January at night along US2 in upper Michigan. Coated everything with nickel based anti-seize so this won't happen again.

Just replaced my spare tire hoist. Mine, like everybody else's had the secondary latch that was a complete ball of rust. I ended up cutting the wire to get my spare tire off. The only issue I had with getting the old hoist off was that each of the clips used by the mounting bolts had rusted and broke. All the bolt would do was spin. I had them torched off and then put the new hoist in with new hardware. Very easy job overall! I bought mine from Gmpartsdirect . Com part number 2591164. I got it shipped to me for $115.

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